San Diego Loyal SC

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

San Diego Loyal SC
San Diego Loyal SC logo.svg
Full nameSan Diego Loyal Soccer Club
FoundedJune 20, 2019; 2 years ago (2019-06-20)
StadiumTorero Stadium
Capacity6,000[1]
OwnerAndrew Vassiliadis[2]
Warren Smith
Landon Donovan
DeAndre Yedlin[3]
Executive VPLandon Donovan
ManagerLandon Donovan
LeagueUSL Championship
20213rd, Pacific Division
6th, Western Conference
Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
WebsiteClub website
Away colors
Current season

San Diego Loyal Soccer Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California.[4] The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan.[5] San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship.[6]

History[]

On June 20, 2019, San Diego was awarded an expansion team in the USL Championship to debut in 2020 or 2021.[4] Warren Smith, one of the co-founders of Sacramento Republic FC, was named the President of the new club.[7][8] Former USMNT, LA Galaxy, and San Jose Earthquakes player Landon Donovan, was named the Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations.[7][8] He was named as the club's first manager on November 14.[9] The team's name and crest were developed through fan engagement to reflect the interests of the city.[8] On March 7, 2020, the team played their first competitive match, a 1–1 draw against Las Vegas Lights FC.

The Loyal forfeited a league match against LA Galaxy II on September 25, 2020, following the alleged use of a racial slur by Omar Ontiveros against Elijah Martin, one of the Loyal's Black players. The match had been played to a 1–1 draw and Ontiveros was later suspended for seven matches by the USL Championship.[10] A week later, the team forfeited another match against Phoenix Rising FC by walking out after halftime following the alleged use of a homophobic slur against Collin Martin, an openly gay player, by Junior Flemmings.[11][12] As a result of the two forfeits, the Loyal failed to qualify for the USL playoffs.[13]

Stadium[]

The team signed a three-year letter of commitment to play at Torero Stadium.[8] Moreover, the initial three-year commitment comes with a series of one-year options for the following four years.[14] The team will initially focus on building a fan base and brand at Torero, noting that the stadium could be expanded to a capacity of 8,000.[14] Moreover, the team noted the possibility of sharing the prospective San Diego State University Snapdragon Stadium, at a 35,000 capacity, as a potential site for future years if they can cultivate the fan support.[14]

Supporters[]

The first recognized supporters group established to support the team was The Locals Supporters Group.[15]

Sponsorship[]

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2020–2021 Adidas[16] Stone Brewing
2022– Charly[17]

Players and staff[]

Roster[]

As of January 27, 2022[18]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Austin Guerrero  United States
2 MF Morgan Hackworth  United States
3 DF Elijah Martin  United States
4 DF Jack Metcalf  England
5 DF Grant Stoneman  United States
6 MF Charlie Adams  England
7 MF Jack Blake  Scotland
10 MF Alejandro Guido  United States
11 MF Tumi Moshobane  South Africa
12 FW Niki Jackson  United States
14 DF Joshua Yaro  Ghana
17 MF Collin Martin  United States
21 FW Corey Hertzog  United States
22 GK Antony Siaha  Cameroon
23 DF Hunter Ashworth  New Zealand
24 MF Miguel Ibarra  United States
25 DF Jordan Chavez  United States
40 FW CJ Fodrey ([A])  United States
41 DF Ian Mai ([A])  United States
42 MF Haji Abdikadir  Kenya
50 MF Xavi Gnaulati ([A])  United States
— DF Kyle Adams  New Zealand
— DF Nikko Boxall  New Zealand
— FW Evan Conway  United States
— MF Nick Moon  United States
— DF Camden Riley  United States
— FW Kyle Vassell  Northern Ireland
— GK Koke Vegas  Spain
  1. ^
    USL Academy player
    2.

Management and staff[]

As of November 16, 2019[19][20]
Technical Staff
EVP of soccer operations, manager Landon Donovan
Associate head coach Nate Miller
Assistant coach Tim Daniels
Goalkeeping coach Matt Hall
Senior advisor Paul Buckle
Senior advisor Shannon MacMillan
Front office staff
Chairman Andrew Vassiliadis
President & CEO Warren Smith

Team records[]

Year-by-year[]

As of December 16, 2021
San Diego Loyal SC
Season USL Championship Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Top Scorer 1 Head Coach Team Captain(s)
P W L D GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
2020 16 6 5 5 17 18 23 4th, Western
Group B 		Did not qualify Cancelled United States Rubio Rubin 7 United States Landon Donovan United States Sal Zizzo
2021 32 14 12 6 51 43 48 3rd, Pacific QF Cancelled South Africa Tumi Moshobane 10 United States Landon Donovan England Charlie Adams
United States Sal Zizzo

^ 1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches[]

  • Includes USL Regular Season, USL Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Loss Draw Win %
Landon Donovan  United States November 14, 2019 present 27 11 8 8 040.74

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Second-division USL team in San Diego prepares to start in 2020". San Diego Union-Tribune. September 17, 2019.
  2. ^ Diego, USL San (October 1, 2019). "SAN DIEGO NATIVE ANDREW VASSILIADIS ANNOUNCED AS CHAIRMAN". San Diego Loyal SC.
  3. ^ "DEANDRE YEDLIN JOINS SAN DIEGO LOYAL SC OWNERSHIP GROUP". SDLoyal.com. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  4. ^ a b USLSoccer com Staff (June 19, 2019). "United Soccer League Awards USL Championship Franchise in San Diego Market". USL Championship. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  5. ^ "Landon Donovan to bring pro soccer to San Diego". fox5sandiego.com. June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Zeigler, Mark (September 16, 2019). "Second-division USL team in San Diego prepares to start in 2020". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Executives". www.uslsandiego.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d "Landon Donovan, Warren Smith bring USL to San Diego". SI.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  9. ^ "San Diego Loyal Announces Landon Donovan as Manager". San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  10. ^ Ziegler, Mark (September 25, 2020). "San Diego Loyal forfeit soccer game to protest racial incident". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  11. ^ Ziegler, Mark (October 1, 2020). "San Diego, Phoenix soccer teams trade accusations, denials in alleged homophobic incident". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  12. ^ Bumbaca, Chris (October 1, 2020). "San Diego Loyal forfeits match after opposing player allegedly directed homophobic slur at Collin Martin". USA Today. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  13. ^ Ziegler, Mark (September 30, 2020). "San Diego Loyal walks off field after alleged homophobic slur; Phoenix player issues denial". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c "Second-division USL soccer team coming to San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  15. ^ "SD Loyal Supporter Groups". San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  16. ^ "KITTED OUT: SD Loyal Announces Partnership with Adidas". USLChampionship.com Staff. January 18, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  17. ^ SC, San Diego Loyal (January 18, 2022). "SD Loyal Announces Apparel Partnership with CHARLY". San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  18. ^ "2021 Roster". sdloyal.com. San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  19. ^ "Administration". San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  20. ^ "Technical Staff". San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
Retrieved from ""